Who do we keep?

There's one thing for sure: the players he will be looking at bringing in will be up at the top of his wish list rather than bottom.

This gives us a much better bargaining tool in terms of wages offered, contract lengths and possible success in the future as a team on the up in the EFL.

We are a more attractive proposition now and players that may have been slightly out of reach, no longer will be.

Quoted from BeijingMariner

I was thinking about this earlier today and my keep list is also what I think Hurst's will be

Extend
McAtee

Max Crocombe 2 year
Jordan Cropper 2 year
Michie Efete 2 year
Scott Burgess 1 year
Ben Fox 2 year
Ryan Taylor 1 year

Andy Smith 2 years if we can
Tristan Abrahams 1 year
Manuel Dieseruvwe 1 year

I have a feeling that he will loan out Wright, Clifton, Battersby if he can bring in better

Keep Scott Burgess but loan out Harry Clifton. Did you have too much to drink yesterday?  

Quoted from Les Brechin

Players out of contract.

Max Crocombe
James McKeown
Danny Amos
Adam Crookes
Jordan Cropper
Michie Efete
Jaz Goundry
Scott Burgess
Giles Coke
Ben Fox
Evan Khouri
Erico Sousa
Max Wright
Luis Adlard
Lennell John-Lewis
Sean Scannell
Ryan Taylor.

That's a lot of bloody players out of contract.

Also do we try to permanently sign any of the loan players here if possible.

Andy Smith
Joey Jones
Arjay Raikhy
Tristan Abrahams
Manuel Dieseruvwe

Players out of contract.

Max Crocombe - Offer new contract
James McKeown - regrettably release. On too much money to be on the bench.
Danny Amos - keep as back up only
Adam Crookes - release
Jordan Cropper - Offer new contract as back up RB
Michie Efete - Offer new contract
Jaz Goundry - Release
Scott Burgess - Release
Giles Coke - Release
Ben Fox -  3 year contract if possible
Evan Khouri - Release
Erico Sousa - Difficult one. I have a feeling he will be released, not enough end product in NL let alone L2.
Max Wright - Difficult one. I would probably release with regret but no point having a player that only plays 15 games a season.
Luis Adlard - Release
Lennell John-Lewis - Release
Sean Scannell - Sort out his rehab and see what he looks like when fit again.
Ryan Taylor. - Offer new contract

Andy Smith - Attempt to sign
Joey Jones - No thanks, awful
Arjay Raikhy - I reckon we could get a better loanee next season but thanks for your efforts and best of luck in the future.
Tristan Abraham - Thanks for your efforts and all the best.
Manuel Dieseruvwe -  Offer a contract. There's something in there that's worth working with.

Then I think you'd be looking for a couple of centre backs, a new first choice left back, two new wide players, at least one new centre mid to challenge Fox and Holohan and a new striker as the bare minimum for signings. Oh and tell Maguire-Drew that he really needs to actually get fit or he'll be forever on the bench. He was puffing more at the start of extra time than Clifton was who'd played an hour more.

I suspect this time PH will be supported properly by the board. He will get the backroom staff and facilities he needs. And he'll be backed in the transfer window. The signings coming in will be a damn sight better than James Berrett and Ashley Chambers.

I think a lot answer themselves really and can’t add much than others can.

The debate will be over all 3 wingers. Wright will no doubt need to leave and hope he gets fit elsewhere for his own sake. Scannell, I love him and I’ve backed him even when our fan base criticised him simply for being injured but this injury is a huge one and he’s on big wages, I’ll be shocked if he stays.

Just leaves Sousa, personally I’d say let him go, he was really poor yesterday and he’s not consistent enough to play in the EFL imo.

One thing is for sure the budget should be much better this time over with no fenty penny pinching.
Didn’t they say somewhere it’s worth a million quid to get in the league.
With that and all the extra season tickets which I would say 6k is a realistic target things are looking rosy.

Could we see Jon Nolan back now we are in the league? Even Omar lol

Quoted from blundellpork

I think there are a lot of rose tinted spectacles here. We’ve been vulnerable to crosses all season as the full backs don’t stop them coming in. I’d therefore replace Cropper and Crooks, and borderline Amos.

Further up Coke, Khouri, Wright, Sousa, Burgess, Jones and Taylor can go. Whilst Taylor links well with McAtee, I’m not convinced he has enough to move up a division.

We need to be aspiring for better players now we have moved up.

Retain Crocombe, Efete, Waterfall, Fox, Clifton. I think we have a chance of getting Smith back on loan now we are in League 2.  

Totally agree with this. Every player deserves credit for the season, they’ve all played a part BUT we must keep
Improving. Whilst it will be quite sad to see some go , there isn’t any time for sentiment in football and we must build a squad capable of handling league two. Paul hurst has a really difficult job of letting some of these lads go in the coming days but it’s a part of the job and it’s something I have no doubts he will get right. He will take into account the whole season and what challenges league two has to offer and make some tough decisions.

I think we have a really decent spine that I’d like to see kept together. Crocombe, waterfall, hopefully Smith back, fox, hologram, mcatee and Taylor provides a decent base. The likes of Clifton, efete , Pearson and possibly Amos will be kept. In my opinion, we need better out wide in particular, sousa just hasn’t delivered with a lack of end product, maguire drew despite moments of quality hasn’t quite done Enough. Max wrights injury problems are just incredibly sad. So wingers will be a priority as will firepower. Taylor has been excellent but hasn’t got the goal return and unlikely to change in the league above. The likes of abrahams/dieseruvwe have had moments and played there part but in truth, we will need more. There’s better out there and we simply cannot stand still. Burgess/coke/Jones have played their parts too, but again, we finished 6th, we had a poor spell , is anyone convinced they’d step up another level?

In summary, The first 11 that got us through the play offs, with the exception of probably cropper/sousa I’d certainly like to see stay, but if we’re to keep improving, and keep moving forward, there does have to be a reality and a ruthlessness in the coming days. It’s imperative we get the next few days right and then hope we can recruit properly ahead of our return

Crocombe - a few (myself included) thought we might need better if we were to go up, but he's been brilliant in the play offs, especially at claiming balls into the box - KEEP
McKeown - has been an incredible servant to the club and will always be a town legend, but I think all parties know his time as our first team keeper is up, and I doubt he'd be happy to warm the bench, would be happy for him to stay in a coaching/backup role on a reduced wage, otherwise - RELEASE
Battersby - wasn't overly impressed with him against Eastleigh but it seems that Hurst sees something there and can't imagine he's on a high salary, this coming season might be an opportunity for him to really cement his place as the no 2 with some EFL trophy games - KEEP

Waterfall - absolutely immense in the play offs and all season in truth, his goals and defensive work more than make up for the occasional error - KEEP
Pearson - always steady and did great when he came on against Wrexham, from his interview the other day seems he'll be transitioning into a coaching role which would be fantastic - KEEP
Smith - so composed for his age, plays with the nous of a centre half ten years older than he is but with the pace of a young man, hopefully Hull will be happy to let him stay - KEEP
Longe-King - by all accounts was decent at Woking but looked really poor for us whenever I watched him and doesn't make sense to retain him when we've got great options in defence - AVAILABLE FOR FREE

Cropper - think he is pretty steady defensively and is capable of putting in a good cross (was class at Eastleigh), plus his long throws add another weapon to our arsenal that showed their value in the play offs - KEEP
Efete - provides fantastic energy down the right and is so dangerous when he comes inside, if he can stay injury free think he has the quality to be a league 1 player at least, would be happy to see Hurst rotate him and Cropper based on the opposition - KEEP
Amos - another steady player who was an instant improvement on what we had when he came in, think he could maybe work on his final ball a bit but clearly gives his all and gets up and down as a modern full back should - KEEP
Crookes - was one of our best players at the beginning of the season but has never really recaptured that, unfortunately I think that Amos is clearly the better option and we could probably find better - RELEASE

Fox - wow, what a player, just an absolutely brilliant engine in that midfield, nothing more to say other than I hope he's with us for years to come - KEEP AND EXTEND LONG TERM
Holohan - hasn't blown me away but seems a good partner for Fox and has that knack of popping up with crucial goals, hopefully with more time we'll see him really kick on - KEEP
Raikhy - have seen some say they haven't been too impressed since his return from injury but in fairness to him I think he's made 3 sub appearances so not much of an opportunity, personally I think he's brilliant, uses his body to shield the ball really well and is able to switch the play with ease, hopefully villa will be happy to loan him to us again - KEEP
Burgess - has never really happened for him, think there might be a decent player in there but seems to go missing from games a bit too easily and I'm sure we can find better - RELEASE
Jones - has 1 brilliant game for every 2 awful ones, really not sure why it is, but not sure he would have been good enough even if we had stayed in the NL - RELEASE
Coke - a great leader but I think his legs have gone, would keep only as an emergency backup in a coaching role - KEEP AS COACH

Clifton - absolute workhorse who never stops going, and personally think that this wide role suits him much better than playing in central midfield, if he can add a few more goals to his game he will be an absolute star - KEEP
Sousa - yes his end product isn't good enough, but he has that ability to really frighten defenders and tracks back well, think we've seen with players like dembele that sometimes these tricky wingers need a bit of time and once they start scoring goals they're unstoppable, for that reason I would - KEEP
JMD - very tough one, goes into town folklore for his goal and clearly has real technical ability but was puffing after about 10 mins yday and appears to be quite unfit/slow, Hurst will know better than us whether he'll be able to get up to speed with a proper preseason but if he's limited to 30 min cameos then I'd - RELEASE
Scannell - absolutely love him and he's such an exciting player to watch, clearly loved in the dressing room as well, but if his injury issues continue to plague him then we're without a player for large parts of the season, for me it comes down to whether his injury is likely to recur/his general fitness and whether he'd be willing to move into a coaching role/pay as you play sort of contract, but if he's not going to feature for more than 5/10 games a season then sadly I would - RELEASE
Wright - clearly a lot of talent and works so hard but it feels like he's made of glass, such a shame for him but unless Hurst feels his injury problems are behind him then I think it would very sadly be sensible to - RELEASE

McAtee - incredible - KEEP AND NEVER LET HIM GO
Taylor - the work he does is so undervalued and he is so important for letting McAtee play his game, getting on a bit but I would still - KEEP
Mani - his goals per minutes is nuts and I actually think he's brilliant at winning the ball in the air, bringing it down and releasing midfielders, maybe doesn't quite have the nous of Taylor but has proved his worth even if only as a sub option - KEEP
Abrahams - very tough one, works very hard and seems like a good lad but has missed some big chances and think there might be better options available - RELEASE

In terms of incomings:

A left back, either first team or as cover for Amos.
A centre half with some pace - if we can't get Smith back or if he gets injured then we're stuck with two very slow defenders.
A tough tackling midfielder.
A couple of tricky wingers, to replace the outgoings - Sbarra would be interesting, as others have suggested.
A clever number 10 - to give us an option when McAtee is injured/needs to come off, preferably someone who could also play deeper in midfield or out wide as well.
A poacher - love Taylor but think we do need an alternative option.

Quoted from MaccasBoots

Crocombe - a few (myself included) thought we might need better if we were to go up, but he's been brilliant in the play offs, especially at claiming balls into the box - KEEP
McKeown - has been an incredible servant to the club and will always be a town legend, but I think all parties know his time as our first team keeper is up, and I doubt he'd be happy to warm the bench, would be happy for him to stay in a coaching/backup role on a reduced wage, otherwise - RELEASE
Battersby - wasn't overly impressed with him against Eastleigh but it seems that Hurst sees something there and can't imagine he's on a high salary, this coming season might be an opportunity for him to really cement his place as the no 2 with some EFL trophy games - KEEP

Waterfall - absolutely immense in the play offs and all season in truth, his goals and defensive work more than make up for the occasional error - KEEP
Pearson - always steady and did great when he came on against Wrexham, from his interview the other day seems he'll be transitioning into a coaching role which would be fantastic - KEEP
Smith - so composed for his age, plays with the nous of a centre half ten years older than he is but with the pace of a young man, hopefully Hull will be happy to let him stay - KEEP
Longe-King - by all accounts was decent at Woking but looked really poor for us whenever I watched him and doesn't make sense to retain him when we've got great options in defence - AVAILABLE FOR FREE

Cropper - think he is pretty steady defensively and is capable of putting in a good cross (was class at Eastleigh), plus his long throws add another weapon to our arsenal that showed their value in the play offs - KEEP
Efete - provides fantastic energy down the right and is so dangerous when he comes inside, if he can stay injury free think he has the quality to be a league 1 player at least, would be happy to see Hurst rotate him and Cropper based on the opposition - KEEP
Amos - another steady player who was an instant improvement on what we had when he came in, think he could maybe work on his final ball a bit but clearly gives his all and gets up and down as a modern full back should - KEEP
Crookes - was one of our best players at the beginning of the season but has never really recaptured that, unfortunately I think that Amos is clearly the better option and we could probably find better - RELEASE

Fox - wow, what a player, just an absolutely brilliant engine in that midfield, nothing more to say other than I hope he's with us for years to come - KEEP AND EXTEND LONG TERM
Holohan - hasn't blown me away but seems a good partner for Fox and has that knack of popping up with crucial goals, hopefully with more time we'll see him really kick on - KEEP
Raikhy - have seen some say they haven't been too impressed since his return from injury but in fairness to him I think he's made 3 sub appearances so not much of an opportunity, personally I think he's brilliant, uses his body to shield the ball really well and is able to switch the play with ease, hopefully villa will be happy to loan him to us again - KEEP
Burgess - has never really happened for him, think there might be a decent player in there but seems to go missing from games a bit too easily and I'm sure we can find better - RELEASE
Jones - has 1 brilliant game for every 2 awful ones, really not sure why it is, but not sure he would have been good enough even if we had stayed in the NL - RELEASE
Coke - a great leader but I think his legs have gone, would keep only as an emergency backup in a coaching role - KEEP AS COACH

Clifton - absolute workhorse who never stops going, and personally think that this wide role suits him much better than playing in central midfield, if he can add a few more goals to his game he will be an absolute star - KEEP
Sousa - yes his end product isn't good enough, but he has that ability to really frighten defenders and tracks back well, think we've seen with players like dembele that sometimes these tricky wingers need a bit of time and once they start scoring goals they're unstoppable, for that reason I would - KEEP
JMD - very tough one, goes into town folklore for his goal and clearly has real technical ability but was puffing after about 10 mins yday and appears to be quite unfit/slow, Hurst will know better than us whether he'll be able to get up to speed with a proper preseason but if he's limited to 30 min cameos then I'd - RELEASE
Scannell - absolutely love him and he's such an exciting player to watch, clearly loved in the dressing room as well, but if his injury issues continue to plague him then we're without a player for large parts of the season, for me it comes down to whether his injury is likely to recur/his general fitness and whether he'd be willing to move into a coaching role/pay as you play sort of contract, but if he's not going to feature for more than 5/10 games a season then sadly I would - RELEASE
Wright - clearly a lot of talent and works so hard but it feels like he's made of glass, such a shame for him but unless Hurst feels his injury problems are behind him then I think it would very sadly be sensible to - RELEASE

McAtee - incredible - KEEP AND NEVER LET HIM GO
Taylor - the work he does is so undervalued and he is so important for letting McAtee play his game, getting on a bit but I would still - KEEP
Mani - his goals per minutes is nuts and I actually think he's brilliant at winning the ball in the air, bringing it down and releasing midfielders, maybe doesn't quite have the nous of Taylor but has proved his worth even if only as a sub option - KEEP
Abrahams - very tough one, works very hard and seems like a good lad but has missed some big chances and think there might be better options available - RELEASE

In terms of incomings:

A left back, either first team or as cover for Amos.
A centre half with some pace - if we can't get Smith back or if he gets injured then we're stuck with two very slow defenders.
A tough tackling midfielder.
A couple of tricky wingers, to replace the outgoings - Sbarra would be interesting, as others have suggested.
A poacher - love Taylor but think we do need an alternative option.

Interesting that Sbarra keeps popping up, I actually think their other winger, Barnett, who played for Hurst at Shrewsbury, is a better footballer.

Quoted from MaccasBoots

Crocombe - a few (myself included) thought we might need better if we were to go up, but he's been brilliant in the play offs, especially at claiming balls into the box - KEEP
McKeown - has been an incredible servant to the club and will always be a town legend, but I think all parties know his time as our first team keeper is up, and I doubt he'd be happy to warm the bench, would be happy for him to stay in a coaching/backup role on a reduced wage, otherwise - RELEASE
Battersby - wasn't overly impressed with him against Eastleigh but it seems that Hurst sees something there and can't imagine he's on a high salary, this coming season might be an opportunity for him to really cement his place as the no 2 with some EFL trophy games - KEEP

Waterfall - absolutely immense in the play offs and all season in truth, his goals and defensive work more than make up for the occasional error - KEEP
Pearson - always steady and did great when he came on against Wrexham, from his interview the other day seems he'll be transitioning into a coaching role which would be fantastic - KEEP
Smith - so composed for his age, plays with the nous of a centre half ten years older than he is but with the pace of a young man, hopefully Hull will be happy to let him stay - KEEP
Longe-King - by all accounts was decent at Woking but looked really poor for us whenever I watched him and doesn't make sense to retain him when we've got great options in defence - AVAILABLE FOR FREE

Cropper - think he is pretty steady defensively and is capable of putting in a good cross (was class at Eastleigh), plus his long throws add another weapon to our arsenal that showed their value in the play offs - KEEP
Efete - provides fantastic energy down the right and is so dangerous when he comes inside, if he can stay injury free think he has the quality to be a league 1 player at least, would be happy to see Hurst rotate him and Cropper based on the opposition - KEEP
Amos - another steady player who was an instant improvement on what we had when he came in, think he could maybe work on his final ball a bit but clearly gives his all and gets up and down as a modern full back should - KEEP
Crookes - was one of our best players at the beginning of the season but has never really recaptured that, unfortunately I think that Amos is clearly the better option and we could probably find better - RELEASE

Fox - wow, what a player, just an absolutely brilliant engine in that midfield, nothing more to say other than I hope he's with us for years to come - KEEP AND EXTEND LONG TERM
Holohan - hasn't blown me away but seems a good partner for Fox and has that knack of popping up with crucial goals, hopefully with more time we'll see him really kick on - KEEP
Raikhy - have seen some say they haven't been too impressed since his return from injury but in fairness to him I think he's made 3 sub appearances so not much of an opportunity, personally I think he's brilliant, uses his body to shield the ball really well and is able to switch the play with ease, hopefully villa will be happy to loan him to us again - KEEP
Burgess - has never really happened for him, think there might be a decent player in there but seems to go missing from games a bit too easily and I'm sure we can find better - RELEASE
Jones - has 1 brilliant game for every 2 awful ones, really not sure why it is, but not sure he would have been good enough even if we had stayed in the NL - RELEASE
Coke - a great leader but I think his legs have gone, would keep only as an emergency backup in a coaching role - KEEP AS COACH

Clifton - absolute workhorse who never stops going, and personally think that this wide role suits him much better than playing in central midfield, if he can add a few more goals to his game he will be an absolute star - KEEP
Sousa - yes his end product isn't good enough, but he has that ability to really frighten defenders and tracks back well, think we've seen with players like dembele that sometimes these tricky wingers need a bit of time and once they start scoring goals they're unstoppable, for that reason I would - KEEP
JMD - very tough one, goes into town folklore for his goal and clearly has real technical ability but was puffing after about 10 mins yday and appears to be quite unfit/slow, Hurst will know better than us whether he'll be able to get up to speed with a proper preseason but if he's limited to 30 min cameos then I'd - RELEASE
Scannell - absolutely love him and he's such an exciting player to watch, clearly loved in the dressing room as well, but if his injury issues continue to plague him then we're without a player for large parts of the season, for me it comes down to whether his injury is likely to recur/his general fitness and whether he'd be willing to move into a coaching role/pay as you play sort of contract, but if he's not going to feature for more than 5/10 games a season then sadly I would - RELEASE
Wright - clearly a lot of talent and works so hard but it feels like he's made of glass, such a shame for him but unless Hurst feels his injury problems are behind him then I think it would very sadly be sensible to - RELEASE

McAtee - incredible - KEEP AND NEVER LET HIM GO
Taylor - the work he does is so undervalued and he is so important for letting McAtee play his game, getting on a bit but I would still - KEEP
Mani - his goals per minutes is nuts and I actually think he's brilliant at winning the ball in the air, bringing it down and releasing midfielders, maybe doesn't quite have the nous of Taylor but has proved his worth even if only as a sub option - KEEP
Abrahams - very tough one, works very hard and seems like a good lad but has missed some big chances and think there might be better options available - RELEASE

In terms of incomings:

A left back, either first team or as cover for Amos.
A centre half with some pace - if we can't get Smith back or if he gets injured then we're stuck with two very slow defenders.
A tough tackling midfielder.
A couple of tricky wingers, to replace the outgoings - Sbarra would be interesting, as others have suggested.
A clever number 10 - to give us an option when McAtee is injured/needs to come off, preferably someone who could also play deeper in midfield or out wide as well.
A poacher - love Taylor but think we do need an alternative option.

Maguire Drew is under contract

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Interesting that Sbarra keeps popping up, I actually think their other winger, Barnett, who played for Hurst at Shrewsbury, is a better footballer.

Barnett and Dallas from the Solihull side in a heartbeat..