8 players told they can leave

by **billythefish** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 7:38 am

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sport/ ... rs-4724374

Cody, McSheff, Edge, Dunn, French Kev, Jennings, Bell and Clarke.

Whilst Adge will be pleased with this have to admit that I would have probably given Clarke another year but I guess that as he is behind Christie then it makes sense.

Cody - Never scored the goals for us that he did for Gillingham
McShef - A poor fatter version of the player I remember from a few years ago.
Edge - Never quite felt comfortable with him at CB but did ok for us. Leaves us short at the back now.
Dunn - Never had a run and the couple of games he played didnt look that good. Watch Murphy get injured now.
French Kev - Only seen him play once and was ok
Jennings - One of the conveyor belt of City midfielders that has little or no appetite to get in the oppositions box. Looked ok at this level but would prefer someone that could get in the box more and contribute more in the assists and goals.
Bell - Some odd bits of quality but overall a disappointment and injured for most of his time here. Yet another Cov winger with no pace.

Leaves us short of numbers and we desperately need a leader at CB, a box to box midfielder, a winger with pace and a striker. Only problem being we are under a transfer embargo.

by **plastic scouser** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:41 am

Getting told they can leave is one thing... Actually getting shot of them is another matter. I can't see many clubs offering the likes of bell , Mcshef and Jennings the post of cash they are currently on. Shame about the edge.. I thought he was better than wood every time I saw him play.
Just watch Clarke move onyard and upward now !

by AD » Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:53 am

Some surprises there, others less so.

I expected McSheff, Malaga and Bell, and suspected McDonald would be.

The others I expected were Barton and Thomas (purely because of his tweet after the managers meeting) with Fleck and Jennings outside possibilities.

Dunn I didn't think was going to go purely because we've no other keepers (so I guess they think Burge must be decent enough) but Edge and Clarke I'm surprised with, if only because of the lack of options it now leaves us wih defensively- one CB in Willis - a kid, and Christie is the most experienced defender! [smilie=icon_blink.gif]

.

It's worrying that they're not going to be training with everyone else, as with the few options we have we're going to need everyone available to step in at some point if they don't leave and if they've not been involved in the planning it's a recipe for disaster - just look back to the McAllister days with players training at the memorial park. It appears SP isn't just talking the usual manager speak of signings and stuff, he's actually expecting it! If he just read the paper he'd know that he's never going to be able to sign anyone until at least the beginning of August due to the creditors meeting and even then there's no guarantee the embargo will be lifted as Otium haven't filed accounts either. I'm really starting to have my doubts about him.

So, at the moment the squad appears to be:

GK: Murphy, Burge
LB: Adams, Haynes
RB: Christie, Phillips
CB: Willis
LM:
RM: Baker, Garner, Moussa
CM: Thomas, Fleck, Lobjoit, Barton
FW: Clarke, Wilson, Daniels

There may also be Maund, a striker, and Rankin, right midfielder to add to that.

That is a relegation squad.

by **Realist** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 9:09 am

Could we not get Barry Quinn back? We could start a protest if it helps?

by **Burf** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 9:51 am

Barry Quinn was class. You can't coach that shit.

by **billythefish** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 11:47 am

I can see the logic with the keeper position. Many lower level sides chose to do without an experienced back up keeper as its rarer for them to be injured/suspended than outfield players. If they are out then can generally find a decent back up from Championship/Premiership to bring in. I think I read somewhere that someone (Walsall I think) did without any keepers and used 3 or 4 different keepers all on loan.

Centre back is a big worry as whilst Willis is highly thought of he is only young. Am guessing that SP has someone he is fairly certain will be joining (perhaps Martin back on loan). I dont think that the squad mentioned has relegation written over it. Murphy, Christie, Blair, Baker, Moussa and Clarke all played very well last season when we moved into the playoff picture. If (yes its a big if) we can add in a couple of decent loans and a couple of freebies then that seems to form the basis of a reasonable side at this level.

We had one of the bigger squads in the division last year and it had to be thinned out at some point. SP has done this and whilst we might not agree with the names being released I think most people realised it was coming. Other option was to keep paying McSheff and Bell etc £3-6K a week to sit on the bench.

by **Burf** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 12:12 pm

to be fair they've got to tell the Edje that he's leaving now as it'll take him 2 days to get to car park at Ryton from the dressing room ....slow ****.... :lol:

by AD » Thu Jun 27, 2013 12:28 pm

Getting rid of earners like Bell and Shef is sensible, but until such point as they are actually leaving, why ostracise them completely, especially in a situation whereby there is no idea if, left alone when, you may get the chance to sign someone to replace them? They may well need to be called upon if no-one comes in for them so they may as well be in a position to actually do that, rather than kicking their heels away from the main squad. It creates a two-tier squad and that just generates animosity. If you've basically been cut out of the squad by the manager, should he need to call you in you're less likely to feel obliged to give your all for him, or have the close bond with teammates that makes you want to put the effort in for them. It's a toxic situation.

I still think at this moment this is a relegation squad, purely because the defence is far too threadbare and inexperienced to cope even without the inevitable injuries and suspensions they pick up. Clarke, Baker and Moussa are all more than capable of causing problems in this division but they can't do it that often. And that's assuming they don't get injured either - look how we fell away once Clarke was out at the end of last season. And with a small squad meaning players will be playing most games, fatigue is an issue and injuries become much more likely due to the extra strain on the players physically.

Obviously SP doesn't intend this to be the final squad, but I can't see us being in a position of being allowed to sign anyone until far too late to get anyone decent (if at all), and will end up panicking with emergency loans come the start of August just to get us to a point whereby we can field a proper defence.

At the moment I'm getting distinct whiffs of two seasons ago under AT, with a 'large' squad trimmed, only to find out later in the season that the supposedly large squad was actually pretty much needed due to injury, suspension and fatigue.

by **Burf** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 3:46 pm

we're going down. just watch.

by **the boss** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 4:54 pm

past caring to be honest. Can't wait for the club to implode and maybe we can start from the ruins and build a club who is run the way it should be.

by AD » Thu Jun 27, 2013 5:14 pm

Realist wrote:Could we not get Barry Quinn back? We could start a protest if it helps?

Have you not heard - Shaw and Willo are coming back, so we're going to have the best defence ever next year! ;-)

by **The Englander** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 6:24 pm

Edge make Mo Konjic look like Linford Christie - I've seen milk turn faster. McSheff should have ripped League One a new one, but didn't. Bell is no good to us on the treatment table. The fact McDonald can score freely for Gillingham but look so poor for us suggests our tactics don't suit him, or he's found his level in L2. Jennings is seemingly to expensive (But giving him half his wages then bringing in a lesser play on the other half of his wage is a saving?). Dunn looked less decent than the season before. Malaga, for whatever reason, wasn't given a proper chance (Somebody mentioned a crap attitude and refusal to learn the language). As for Jordan Clarke, surely it has to be attitude? Not the worst right-hand side in the division if Clarke and Christie both play? (As both like going forward too).

This post was deleted by The Englander on Thu Jun 27, 2013 6:25 pm.
Reason: Double Post. Stupid Fucking Computer

by **The Yid** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 6:46 pm

Pressley is taking a big risk assuming embargo will be lifted before season starts. I don't think it will and in the meantime isolating those who aren't in his plans is a bit naive because he may have to heavily rely on them still this season.

by **Des** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 6:59 pm

Players? Systems? Options? Wages?

'Just remembered, we're a football club, aren't we?

by **the boss** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 7:02 pm

Des wrote:Players? Systems? Options? Wages?

'Just remembered, we're a football club, aren't we?

no my friend, we are a laughing stock

by **The Englander** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 7:19 pm

We're not a laughing stock, because nobody actually cares. If we went out of business, I doubt it would cause more than a ripple in the football world.

by AD » Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:08 pm

The Englander wrote:Edge make Mo Konjic look like Linford Christie - I've seen milk turn faster. McSheff should have ripped League One a new one, but didn't. Bell is no good to us on the treatment table. The fact McDonald can score freely for Gillingham but look so poor for us suggests our tactics don't suit him, or he's found his level in L2. Jennings is seemingly to expensive (But giving him half his wages then bringing in a lesser play on the other half of his wage is a saving?). Dunn looked less decent than the season before. Malaga, for whatever reason, wasn't given a proper chance (Somebody mentioned a crap attitude and refusal to learn the language). As for Jordan Clarke, surely it has to be attitude? Not the worst right-hand side in the division if Clarke and Christie both play? (As both like going forward too).

I've stated in the past I thin Clarke was vastly over-hyped by previous managers (in a year going from AT saying he would play for England :lol:

to SP bombing out of a stricken L1 club) but I agree that Christie and Clarke could link together well on the right. Having come through our system together and being best friends they should have a good understanding of each others games and with both having at least a modicum of defensive ability should look reasonably solid as a duo.

Personally I think both Baker and Moussa are better suited more to the middle anyway.

But for me the biggest shock has been SP's attempt to get rid of 6 central defenders in 6 months. Wood, Cameron, Edge, Malaga, Henderson and not taking on Fletcher from the academy.

OK, none of them were the world's greatest defenders and ideally we'd like to replace them. But this isn't ideally - we've got the embargo and a halved budget so I'm really not sure we'd get much better.

And I've seen nothing so far to suggest Willis is much, if any, better than Cameron, and certainly in an ability to play 50-ish first team games a season. Didn't he have to go off with cramp after about an hour of his debut? Barmy.

I reckon most will sit tight if no offers come in. With our situation it's highly likely the manager could have changed by October and they get another chance.

by **Roger Mellie** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 5:35 pm

I'm astounded yet not surprised by the stupidity of some of the **** on here!

How does this wonderful fairy land you operate in allow players to be placed on the transfer list but that information not being made public work?

Ostracised? No, transfer listed.

by **adge** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:34 pm

Well i guess i was right again! Jordan Clark going on to play for England Blah Blah Blah......
Maybe Thorn meant at croquet? Now off you go Jordan and get yourself off to Coundon Highway where you might get a game. Another who believed in his own hype and was in the team not on merit-but because there was nobody else. See ya!