Jolley must stay NOW.

Quoted from Nutsy

We have the bones of a promotion chasing side:

Macc
Hendrie Ohman Davis Ring
Clifton Whitehouse Hessenthaler
Vernam Cook Wright

There is a back to bones XI that will get better with a good pre season, plus additions in for the forwards

Yes, this does not set some people's hearts racing but the overall age of that 11 is 24. Take into account the bench of next years players and that'll not alter things either.

We are getting there - just think the last manager got rid of Shaun Pearson and replaced him with Nathan Clarke... the only way is up

UTM

I think that is just wishful thinking to be honest.

We have seen most of those players most of the season, and they have produced very little.

We (me included) always think our players are going to be real deal, but the facts do not bear it out. We are in a lowly position in the table, and even when we were a little bit better we didn't create much. On paper the players don't look too bad, but when they are facing other teams in the division they aren't. The same will happen in the summer - those with the bigger budgets will sign the better players and although we will be "excited" by our signings compared to others they will not be as good as we think.

Think back to the first game of the season. We all had high hopes and FGR took us to the cleaners. I thought they would win the league on that performance but they have only made the play offs I think so it shows just how difficult it is to put a good team together.

Perhaps another manager might have got more out of our players, but this is what Fenty always relies on - somebody somewhere making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Quoted from fiveallive

The centre mids were great that year Bolland, Kalala, Toner scored great goals against Lincoln and Carlisle, Woodhouse added quality from set pieces who 4 years early moved to Birmingham for 1 million.

Jones and Reddy upfront, Parkinson on the wing, Jones and Whittle at the back.

Fenty had a relegation budget again that year, and Slade worked miracles getting the team together but since then it's proved you can't do it every year.


Relying on free transfers and loans.

Garry Cohen was good that season too, before getting injured. Loved that CB pairing of Jones and Whittle. Mildenhall was quality as well.

Carlisle were great that season though. Bridges was a cut above anyone else in the division and made Karl Hawley's job of banging the goals in a piece of pish.

Frustrating season in that I don't think there was a right lot of difference between us, Orient and Northampton. We were comfortably better than all the other playoff teams too in my opinion, we just failed to show up at Cardiff.

Quoted from golfer

Definitely not good enough-doubt if that team would score a goal before xmas

Would not disagree that team listed is not good enough but provides a reasonable starting point. Talking to some ardent long-term Lincoln fans on Sunday who enquired about Whitehouse and said that he was missed this season ( not that much given their title win) as gets from box to box very well and scores goals. A midfield player who actually contributes goals is not something we have had for a while and let’s hope upon his return to fitness he can attain the form he showed at Lincoln last year.

For me we need a new left back, a more “cultured” centre back who preferably is left footed, 2 additional midfield players, one with some “beef &muscle” about him and one with some guile & vision. A good wide player who can also help Wright’s development and 2 central strikers who firstly can score some goals, secondly, can add some physicality and thirdly are capable of holding the ball up and waiting for support.

Rose & Vernam give the squad pace as will hopefully Wright and the new winger. At the back I would keep both Davis & Whitmore but accept better options may be out there so one may be released.

Cardwell needs season long loan to Conference side and this should confirm what most of us think but if there is true potential hidden allows him the opportunity to develop and demonstrate this.

Think this recipe if applied should see us well in top half and hopefully the play offs.  

The problem with the failure to get promoted under Slade Mk. I came down pretty much to the signings made after Christmas who were poor pretty much to a man.

Junior Mendes was signed as a striker/winger and scored no goals in 18 appearances which included 11 starts and Goodfellow played a lot without doing anything very much.

I'd argue that the signing of Ben Futcher was a poor one as well because it meant we spent all our time looking to whack set pieces into the opposition box for our two 6'7" defenders. Less football played, more hoof ball.

At the end of the day, the non-performance in Cardiff didn't really matter as much as our failure to keep things going after Christmas.

Quoted from Maringer

The problem with the failure to get promoted under Slade Mk. I came down pretty much to the signings made after Christmas who were poor pretty much to a man.

Junior Mendes was signed as a striker/winger and scored no goals in 18 appearances which included 11 starts and Goodfellow played a lot without doing anything very much.

I'd argue that the signing of Ben Futcher was a poor one as well because it meant we spent all our time looking to whack set pieces into the opposition box for our two 6'7" defenders. Less football played, more hoof ball.

At the end of the day, the non-performance in Cardiff didn't really matter as much as our failure to keep things going after Christmas.

Take your point. Mendes seemed to disrupt the side. Futcher was such a letdown after his uncle. Yet we came so close to automatic promotion it still hurts.

Hitting the cross bar very late on at Orient. 2 more points for us. 1 less for them.  I'm sure others have other tipping points.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Much as I'm not a Stephen Marley fan, it was Mr Day that had us promoted to the Championship in 5 years during one of Mr Fenty's media 'sabbaticals'.

Given that MJ has brought much-needed youth to the squad, he deserves the opportunity to build a squad in the next window and develop its' style of play. Let's hope that the budget has been boosted by some saved wages, FA Cup money and the Humberston Avenue money tree!

Sorry the Yes-men all seem so alike to me...

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Well if he’d been to a few more games, he’d know that RHJ is neither a full back nor left footed 🤨

So what, Jolley plays every fornicator out of position anyway in his ever changing but failed attempts to construct a team that can actually play to his tactics. Either that or they really are shite players

Quoted from KingstonMariner

Are you feeling well Swin?  

My positive comment was made in respect of the list of players, it did not include the manager or his ill planned tactics

Nutsy is spot on IMO... and I think the word 'bones' is key
Needs some quality flesh on those bones

GK and defence is solid and as good as most in L2

Midfield has energy - Hess and Harry

Average age of squad is mid 20s with lots of young players coming through

Fact - Bury win promotion and we had only conceded one more goal than them... OK, they had scored 38 more and... that is obviously where the problem lies

We know that; MJ knows that; the board knows that

I think the signs are very encouraging from the way MJ has basically sorted out defence for next season and what he is saying in interviews

In a nutshell he's going to spend a huge part of the budget on attacking/creative players and there are a couple close to coming off already...he's got the money I would think to get deals done and dusted

This tells me that him and the board know 100% that to attract this type of player you need to push the boat out on wages etc

So... follow that to its logical end...if we can get in 2 creative players in midfield and a couple of strikers (even an Olly Palmer type would be better than what we have) then the squad suddenly looks capable of challenging for play offs IMO

There's a lot of things to be really positive about with the current squad other than the most vital areas - creativity and goals; I think MJ is on the case!

Quoted from devs

Nutsy is spot on IMO... and I think the word 'bones' is key
Needs some quality flesh on those bones

GK and defence is solid and as good as most in L2

Midfield has energy - Hess and Harry

Average age of squad is mid 20s with lots of young players coming through

Fact - Bury win promotion and we had only conceded one more goal than them... OK, they had scored 38 more and... that is obviously where the problem lies

We know that; MJ knows that; the board knows that

I think the signs are very encouraging from the way MJ has basically sorted out defence for next season and what he is saying in interviews

In a nutshell he's going to spend a huge part of the budget on attacking/creative players and there are a couple close to coming off already...he's got the money I would think to get deals done and dusted

This tells me that him and the board know 100% that to attract this type of player you need to push the boat out on wages etc

So... follow that to its logical end...if we can get in 2 creative players in midfield and a couple of strikers (even an Olly Palmer type would be better than what we have) then the squad suddenly looks capable of challenging for play offs IMO

There's a lot of things to be really positive about with the current squad other than the most vital areas - creativity and goals; I think MJ is on the case!

I like the glass half full attitude, but don't see it that way. The only reason the defence was solid was because we offered nothing going forward. If we played a more expansive type of football, like Bury, then we'd have been carved open at the other end. That's what happened at the start of the season when we played decent football but didn't take any of the chances, then got hit on the counter.

I don't see Hess and Clifton in the same midfield working. I like them both, but both are busy players that get around a lot but don't offer too much creativity to the team. Hess is probably less mobile but better on the ball.

If Wes Thomas was playing in a decent team, he probably would have scored 20 goals this season. He got a decent return with pretty poor service and scored some goals that you couldn't really expect a player to do.

I'm really not sure we're good enough in any area of the pitch to challenge for the playoffs, but hopefully this time Jolley's marquee signings will be thoroughly scouted and still have the legs to play professional football and hopefully the striker will be match fit before November this time.