Squad

maybe we should just leave it to the one whos on more money than us,hes totally qualified in his job, has an excellent record in management, has a great respect from players, knows a player when he sees one, good at tactics,and says he has a job to finish, credit to the guy !....... and if you all believe that,then I will take Mighty Mariner out on a date and marry him, pffft.

Looking at Morecambe's website 7 of those players are under 21.

Well realistically how many players do we have who aren't young pro's? And by young pro's I don't just mean the players who have come through our youth system, I'm including the players who have been released from teams and are yet to have established themselves as professionals.

Out of our squad of 30 there is Clifton (19 y.o), Wright who is out on loan (19 y.o), DJ (19 y.o), Sawyer (18 y.o), Dembele (will be 21 next week), Killip (21 y.o), Cardwell (20 y.o), Akheem Rose (who's profile says he's 117 years old but I reckon it's probably closer to 17).

I highly doubt any of the above are on more than £300/400 a week with the majority of them probably being on less. That leaves 22 "senior" players but out of those we've got one long term absentee in Jamey Osborne and two players who may very well not play for us (McAllister and Asante). With those three players injured that leaves us with 19 players who are established, senior professionals. It would have been poor management to just hope that McAllister and Asante would come good so it makes sense to have enough bodies in to cover for that. Particularly with no loan market this season.

So actually we're only one off the number you suggested, our squad just seems to be beefed out by younger players.

Quoted from Swansea_Mariner

Looking at Morecambe's website 7 of those players are under 21.

Which leaves them with 21 players who are over the age of 21. We have 22 who are over that age. And two of those have big question marks over fitness.

Quoted from mariner91

Well realistically how many players do we have who aren't young pro's? And by young pro's I don't just mean the players who have come through our youth system, I'm including the players who have been released from teams and are yet to have established themselves as professionals.

Out of our squad of 30 there is Clifton (19 y.o), Wright who is out on loan (19 y.o), DJ (19 y.o), Sawyer (18 y.o), Dembele (will be 21 next week), Killip (21 y.o), Cardwell (20 y.o), Akheem Rose (who's profile says he's 117 years old but I reckon it's probably closer to 17).

I highly doubt any of the above are on more than £300/400 a week with the majority of them probably being on less. That leaves 22 "senior" players but out of those we've got one long term absentee in Jamey Osborne and two players who may very well not play for us (McAllister and Asante). With those three players injured that leaves us with 19 players who are established, senior professionals. It would have been poor management to just hope that McAllister and Asante would come good so it makes sense to have enough bodies in to cover for that. Particularly with no loan market this season.

So actually we're only one off the number you suggested, our squad just seems to be beefed out by younger players.

So if we are including Killip and Dembele 21 they also have 3 21 year olds in addition to the 7 under 20 given them a squad of 18 'senior' players.

Quoted from Swansea_Mariner

So if we are including Killip and Dembele 21 they also have 3 21 year olds in addition to the 7 under 20 given them a squad of 18 'senior' players.

You've said yourself you would want a squad of 21 senior players, we have a squad with 22 senior players. Our squad really isn't that big compared to nearly all of the other clubs in the league, particularly when you consider how many of our players are very young. I would like to think we can afford a couple more players than Morecambe as our attendances last season were comfortably three times higher than theirs.

Quoted from mariner91

You've said yourself you would want a squad of 21 senior players, we have a squad with 22 senior players. Our squad really isn't that big compared to nearly all of the other clubs in the league, particularly when you consider how many of our players are very young. I would like to think we can afford a couple more players than Morecambe as our attendances last season were comfortably three times higher than theirs.

I only brought Morecambe up because you mentioned them, you don't know that we have a comparable size squad that's just your assumption. I'm  not saying you're wrong as I can't be bothered to look through all their squads and count those players who fit your definition of 'senior pro'. I looked up one team that appears to show that you can't quite take those numbers you quoted at face value.

Relative to any squad I can ever remember us having this one seems large.

You also mention quality and balance I don't think we've got that right either but that's a whole other can of worms  😆

The squads ok for a 4th tier "mid table prospects club" it's just got a lot to prove now though IMHO, defence is a concern for me but give them time and we might get away with it.

People say the funniest things, they moan about us signing journey men and in the next post moan about 2 year deals to player we have only seen 4 games into the season.

As much as I am worried about the start and what looks like  Slade's inability to get his message across the the players I doubt he has got up each morning since May intending to sign what looks like a mixed bag of pro's.

Quoted from Swansea_Mariner

I only brought Morecambe up because you mentioned them, you don't know that we have a comparable size squad that's just your assumption. I'm  not saying you're wrong as I can't be bothered to look through all their squads and count those players who fit your definition of 'senior pro'. I looked up one team that appears to show that you can't quite take those numbers you quoted at face value.

Relative to any squad I can ever remember us having this one seems large.

You also mention quality and balance I don't think we've got that right either but that'sa while other can of worms  😆

The rules have changed, it's not a like for like comparison to previous seasons. Previously you could set out with a squad of maybe 21 or so and then if you got an injury or two you could dip into the loan market if necessary. Now if you have a squad that small and get unlucky with injuries, you'll be screwed until January. We maybe could be a couple of players lighter but given the fact we've got two players who can't be counted on to get fit and a lot of players who are young, I don't think our squad is that massive. It's definitely not the biggest in the league at any rate, Coventry had 33 players registered according to the programme from the home game.

The main issue with our squad, in my opinion, is the balance and the quality but I guess we'll find out in due course.

Totally agree on the quality and balance point.