Pwoite

Bearing in mind the last minute.com nature of so many transfers, adding to the difficulty of shifting some of our over paid, under performing, squad members, I don’t relish the task of the recruitment team this summer. They certainly won’t be able to move players on before bringing fresh blood in, and with thirty ‘senior’ players already on our books, I can see a logistics nightmare in terms of pre-season training and matches. I wonder whether a dozen or so players have, or will, be told that they are not part of the plans for next season, and therefore won’t be training with the first team. If so, what impact on morale and team spirit will this create? Equally, if such information gets out, it reduces the price, and therefore club’s income, on those players. I don’t think we should underestimate the difficulty facing the club in reducing our squad size and wage bill, whilst looking at bringing in those players vital to next season’s campaign.

There’s the rub. Will he be playing, by which I mean, will he get regularly game time or just five minute cameos in the league on odd occasions the team is winning comfortably, and a start in the Carabao Cup. I got slated in January for saying I didn’t think Dibling was destined to be that great, and I stand by my opinion. Sell, and move on.

Interesting, looking at last week’s U21 play off final, the City commentator mentioned the young ages of most of the City team, and the comparative older ages of our team. As I understand it, three of our starters are out of contract next month. Payne has already announced his departure, Abu and the keeper, McNamara. Have I missed anyone? With a right back likely to come in, Bree, if he stays, would surely push Abu out, unless Derryck is considered a better fit than James medium term. With Lumley out of contract, is it worth keeping McNamara as third choice? (I’m presuming Bazunu leaves or goes on loan) Of the others, what next. Robinson, who didn’t play in the final but starred in the semi, has a clear future. The two centre backs both made the bench for the Arsenal game, and look able to push on. O’Brian Whitmarsh needs a good pre season to get himself in consideration for the fringes of the first team. Moses Sesay has a recent new contract. Larios seems too slight to make top level, and I can see him moving on this summer. Ballard has been mentioned many times on here. Opinions are divided but thoughts are that he doesn’t have the guile to make the first team, and I’m sure next season will prove this one way or the other. Anyone with better insight or inside knowledge?

This is exactly the problem. So, the choice for Spors and Still is who we have to keep, who can we sell, and who do we loan and end up subsidising? No point having four or five central defenders if we only plan we use three from the current squad, so cut and run, and move Stephens, or whoever it is, on to Charlton or whoever, and get him out the door and some money towards his wages. Not ideal, but better than having players hanging around, potentially disrupting the dressing room.

We need to reduce the squad size and the wage bill, so to some extent it is a matter of clearing the decks, and see who we can sell. So, central defenders, as an example, we need three plus the two from the U21s. Which three? Potentially, that could be keep two and bring one in. THB and Edwards would be good, but we need to move on four. ABK, Wood, Bednarek, Stephens…..out of the six, perhaps, but the important point is to move on at least three, and I’ve not even considered Taylor. Would it really matter which ones we kept in the Championship? Probably not. Apply that principle throughout and then bring in players as opportunities present themselves, having a list of targets and, perhaps, one or two essentials to meet squad weakness. Goalkeeper and centre forward come straight to mind. Easy, in principle, much harder in practice.

Loans are all well and good for next season, but won’t help if we are promoted, unless there is a loan to buy clause, and, as we’ve seen, there is no guarantee of EPL success with such players. We need to be investing this summer, and if promoted, the following summer.

Living a handful of miles from Selhurst Park, this was more a ‘home’ fixture for me, and being of a certain age, I got in for a quid, and it was well worth every penny. We deservedly won, though we were exposed to a number of fast Palace breaks, and if they knew where the target was, if could have been a different result. Similarly, their keeper kept them in the match, pulling off a number of saves, often at close range. The final scoreline flattered Palace, particularly with the dominance we showed in the extra thirty minutes. It was my first chance to see these players, and Robinson stood out head and shoulders above others, though his start seemed a little complacent after his recent elevation to the first team squad. He is like a young Lallana, cutting in, crossing and shooting. Another to enjoy whilst we can. Of the rest, Jayden Moore, at 18, and in the middle of defence, is tall and fast, and if he bulks up a bit, he could be one to follow. Alongside him was the much vaunted French U18s captain, who is a beast but several times was caught out as too casual. If he can cut that out of his game then his size and agility will be very useful at a higher level. Will Merry came on after 66 minutes, looked sharp, had a couple of good long range shots, but injured himself with the second, and had to be replaced ced by Princewill E…….. He is one powerful player, though sadly reminded me of Tall Paul in appearance, but seems to have better ball skills. Lewis Payne and Juan Larios were running full backs. Larios has class but looks too slight to have impact at a higher level, and was too easily pushed past by the fast, powerful Palace winger. He has ability, determination but….. Payne looked useful, but not a real stand out. Abu got the winner, and has some clever moves, and is full of energy, but whether he has enough to move up, I’m not sure on this performance. He certainly took his chance with a tremendous shot for the winner. Akinchukwu (sp) lasted till halfway through the second half, and he might develop into a useful squad player in time. Cam Bragg, although he has a little first team experience, didn’t look as though he will be a regular on the bench next season and made a couple of howlers, so maybe that will guarantee him game time!!! Joe O’Brian Whitmarsh started on the bench, and came on with Merry, and I was hoping to see him make an impression after his pre-season form and loan experience. Sadly, he was rather anonymous apart from one powerful run. Always a bit harsh judging players on one game, but most fans like to see who the next big stars are going to be. Level months will bring.

Open top minibus just been ordered.

Armstrong, a waste of time? Yup, proved that in the Championship last time with forty odd goals and assists. We cannot replace all eleven starting players over the summer, so need to build around the most competent and talented we have, those who can do a job next season, and a few ‘starlets’ that are likely to blossom into EPL standard. So, Edwards, Charles, Robinson supported by Armstrong, Stephens, Smallbone, Manning, and dare I say McCarthy, plus whoever we can hold onto from Fernandez, THB, Downes, and a few supporting squad players either coming through from the U21s or seniors we cannot shift. Supplement this with a new keeper, striker, central midfielder and so on. We need to build a squad for next season with an eye on the one after, so a lot of evolution financially as well as the necessary revolution to move some players on.

The fact that we can talk in relatively excited terms about AA, BBD and Archer, plus Stewart, as a potentially promotion sealing attack totally highlights the class difference between the top two divisions. And, should we be promoted, the work required the following summer. I can’t help thinking we need to bring in three players this summer who we hope/expect will be good enough for the EPL in a year’s time. These can either be younger, developing players or more established lower league players with the ability and attitude, as found in Rickie Lambert. Choosing, or finding, such players isn’t easy, but we cannot expect to buy virtually a whole team should we be promoted. It will probably mean spending more than we traditionally have, and reinvesting what we get from selling Dibling, Ramsdale et al. These three would be in addition to a number of new recruits of a lower level to fill gaps left by departing players. Therefore, I can see us moving on around 15-20 players through sales, release or loans, to bring in six or eight, to give us a squad of 20-22, or thereabouts.

Are we now seeing SR 2.0? Kraft out, Ankersen out, Solak in, Spors in. Potentially a more clearly designed recruitment package of manager and players based on year 1, stabilisation, regeneration and promotion, then year 2, consolidation and further stabilisation. That means recruiting a manager to get us promoted and then reviewing, next summer, whether he is the man for the EPL. Similarly, bringing in half a dozen players, three designed to help the promotion push, but no more, and three that contribute next season and the one after. A mix of youth and experience, grit and flair, leadership and control. it needs to be a two year plan, with options at every stage, every transfer window, and to have the courage to remove and replace when necessary.

What, and get a fourth relegation on his CV?

Has he found his level there, then?

How many of our U21s or U18s are capable of stepping up and contributing next season? Clearly Dibling was not planned to break through this season, but I wonder if Spors is hoping, or banking, on some home grown talent in the Championship.

Can he? He is exciting, can dribble and beat two or three players, but he isn’t that dangerous in front of goal, and regularly fails to deliver a critical assist. He is hopeless defending, is very one footed and his set pieces are currently poor. Sure, he gets the crowd on their feet and is exciting, but does he have the potential for an all round game, or is he a latter day MLT? Clearly clubs will see this and more and then decide if the potential is there. There will be suitors, and just maybe we need to cash in whilst we can.