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Lambert: Some Guys Will Need to Move On
Friday, 4th Sep 2020 13:08

Town boss Paul Lambert has reiterated his intention to trim his unwieldy squad and played down the chances of further additions on top of the three signings so far, Stephen Ward, David Cornell and Oli Hawkins.

“I think they will have to at some point,” Lambert admitted when asked if there are players who will have to depart at this morning's Zoom press conference.

“Obviously we’ve got to have 22 over the age 21 [under salary cap rules], so we have to look at that as well.

“Some guys will maybe need to move on because the squad’s too big. We’ve got a lot of young kids who need to go out on loan and play competitive football.

“I think they’ve moved away from U23 level, so I think they have to go out and play competitive football.”

In terms of the 22-man squad, the Blues currently have precisely 22 players fitting that bill with Harry Wright having moved to Swedish club GAIS on loan.

Asked whether his summer recruitment drive was over or whether there would be further additions, Lambert said: “We can’t buy anybody. We’ve not got that money to go and buy players. We’ve got a big enough squad. The three lads that have come in have done great.

“Stephen Ward’s been brilliant, a really good guy, very vocal, he’s been in the Premier League, the top level for a long, long time and knows the game inside out. He’s been great.

“We needed somebody like him. His vocal-ness and the way he is and his experience. OK, he’s an older player, but his brain will take him quicker where younger ones might be just a little bit inexperienced.

“He’ll be a calming influence as well, which I think will be important to us. I think we needed somebody like him.

“Big Oli’s something different for us, he’s been a breath of fresh air, he’s been great. I think he’ll be a handful.

“He’s not fully fit but he’s getting there and Cornell’s come in and is doing well and is pushing Tomas [Holy] to fight for who is going to be the number one.

“The two goalkeepers haven’t trained much because of Tomas’s [shoulder] injury and Cornell came in at a later stage. Three good guys who I think will benefit us.”

Is it a squad which is capable of finishing in the top two? “Yes, of course it is. Everybody’s going to tell you that. We have to perform better than we did at the tail end of last season. We have to play better, we have to improve on a lot of things.

“There are some guys coming back from injury, young Jack Lankester, for example. Two years out, more or less, a long, long time for him. There are a lot of good things there as well, a lot of good things there as well.”


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LonE17Blue added 13:16 - Sep 4
Starting from the top!
1

shouldistayorcounago added 13:22 - Sep 4
Don't like to be too full of doom and gloom but the closer we get to the start of the season, the less hopeful I become.
Sure we have a large squad, but the quality is low - they've proved that over the last 2 seasons.
The players that came in seem like they could be useful, but I still don't think they're enough to turn us into a force. We're about to lose one of our best players, and doubts hang in the air over Norwood, Jackson and Edwards.
It seems increasingly unlikely we'll sign anyone else with the salary cap in place, and with what Lambert has said here. That leaves us in the unenviable position of having to continue to rely on players that just aren't good enough - Kenlock, Donancien, Nsiala etc.
We've been mismanaged badly since Evans came in and we're where we deserve to be as a result.
The problem is, there is no solution. We will be stuck with him at least until he can get us back up, until then we don't really have a prayer.
A couple of weeks ago I felt that we would probably lose both cup games, and then start the league season well without the spectre of an anxious Portman Road crowd hanging over us. Now I'm not so sure we will even manage that.
Not looking forward to this season - top half if we're lucky. I'll be watching on, supporting from the sofa, and hoping I'm wrong. COYB.
1

marco007 added 13:30 - Sep 4
I think that the current position that we find ourselves in is a complete and utter shambles. The season is about to start, we have a massive squad full of average players, our best player wants to leave and our two main strikers also appear to want out!
To add to this we have signed more garbage - one short keeper who is prone to mistakes and cannot claim crosses to compete with one tall keeper who is prone to mistakes and cannot claim crosses, and an old man from Stoke to replace arguably our best player last season....and a tall/ route one footballer that was released by Portsmouth!
That coupled with the fact that our team has overall worsened from the one that finished in it's lowest position in 65 years, managed by an incompetent fool who after almost 2 years in charge is trying to change our footballing philosophy and start from scratch.
Oh and we lost our last 3 pre-season games but it doesn't matter as we are fully prepared after scoring one goal in 4 1/2 hours of play.
Rant over................last one out switch off the light :(
1

bringmeaKuqi added 13:37 - Sep 4
There are plenty players I'd like to see go, but who do we think this is directed at? Lambert's unlikely to want to move Chambers, so who does he not need?

For my money, we should offload in order of preference:

Judge
Nsiala
Nolan
Donacien
Skuse
Chambers

I suspect he's directing this at the likes of Dozzell/ Bishop before some of the ones I've named.
2

heathen66 added 13:51 - Sep 4
Not knowing your best XI or your best formation is not going to help.
Who would be surplus to requirements and where would they go, as apart from Downes, no body wants any of our squad.
Senior Players are on great contracts for L1 so there is no incentive for them to look elsewhere, or gain promotion, and most would not get a place better than L1.
It will only be the youngsters that are moved on as they are easy options and not likely to kick up a stink !!!
I still think we have a good enough squad for promotion from L1, but the lack of leadership on and off the pitch will hamper us greatly.
None of the squad know what winning anything is like and that is another mental barrier that needs to be overcome.
3

BlueBadger added 14:07 - Sep 4
The main departures this club needs are Evans and Lambert.
1

Steve_D added 14:21 - Sep 4
Two that need to go ME and PL
2

afcfee added 15:27 - Sep 4
The way he described ward is how skuse and Chambers should be but they're are nowhere to be seen and struggle to see what they offer
2

runningout added 18:39 - Sep 4
We are in a spot of bother. Most of our squad are responsible for a whimpering departure from the Championship. Plus a false start and weak finish last season. We have NOT one wow player!! Downes included. I would attempt to reduce squad by a lot. Most will do well elsewhere. With that I have some hope for our future believe it or not
2

Linkboy13 added 07:32 - Sep 5
The problem is we get rid of the rubbish and then bring in players who are no better than the rubbish we've chucked out.
0


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