Contract renewals - who would you keep?

[Magicman]

Hanson was injury prone too.

[Carl Sagan]

We've got to be looking upwards not backwards. Football's a ruthless business and there's very little room for sentiment.

No player now on the fringes should be offered another deal. Right now that looks like goodbye to:

Bradley

Barkhuizen 

Washington

Collins 

Thompson

Wilson gets 2 years plus an option for the club. 

Nelson possibly gets the same, or maybe 1 year plus an option for the club. 

Fozzy gets whatever he wants in a non-playing role. Or, and I can hardly believe I'm saying this about a then 36 year old outfield player, maybe 1 more year. 

Everyone gets my thanks for what they've contributed to lift us out of the mire. 

[Ghost of Clough]

1 hour ago, Rich3478 said:

Pretty sure Thompson is not going to be a championship footballer at this point

someone like jamie hanson seemed quite a bit further on than Thompson and still struggled after leaving us.

I believe Hanson liked the odd beer and lacked the determination that Thompson has. Thompson is currently a lower Championship squad player or mid-L1 regular. I think his 'ceiling' is a mid-Championship regular.

[Dimmu]

Nelson 1+1.

The rest has to be released to make room for a progress, Wilson being the toughest decision to make way. IMO  it’s similar case to Wildsmith: Get rid of a good player to get better. That has to be the aim if we are to progress. 

Interestingly, we will only have Brown as a striker if we can’t do a deal for Yates. Bit like our midfield this year, our strike force is needing a complete rebuilding next summer. 

[Srg]

48 minutes ago, Dimmu said:

Nelson 1+1.

The rest has to be released to make room for a progress, Wilson being the toughest decision to make way. IMO  it’s similar case to Wildsmith: Get rid of a good player to get better. That has to be the aim if we are to progress. 

Interestingly, we will only have Brown as a striker if we can’t do a deal for Yates. Bit like our midfield this year, our strike force is needing a complete rebuilding next summer. 

Getting rid of Kane Wilson at 25 years old for nothing, who can play pretty much anywhere down the right side, would just be dumb business. We need a squad of players not just starters, and permanent players who aren't 30+. 6 of 10 outfield players were under 30 on Saturday, one being Adams who will be 29 this season, then Yates and Harness who we don't own. Leaving just Nyambe, Cashin and Kenzo who we own and of prime age. Has to be a priority rather than relying on loans to bring down the age profile, as it's hard to plan longer term and definitely hard to make profits.

[Ram@Lincoln]

Bradley - will be 34 next season and not getting in the team currently. Move on. 

Barkhuizen - will be 32 next season. If fitness proven, 1 year deal for flexibility across the attack.

Washington - will be 33 next season, barely played and massively injury prone. Move on.

Collins - will be 34 next season, struggling to get in team. Move on.

Thompson - still young with potential to improve. Home grown status vital to fill out bench. 2 years.

Wilson - will be 25 next season, early stages of peak period, highly athletic and versatile. 2 years.

Nelson - will be 32 next season, never injured or suspended, vital experience for Rooney/Cashin. 2 years.

Forsyth - here as long as he wants, 1 year playing contract if capable, Huddlestone/B Johnson academy coaching role.

[Ghost of Clough]

37 minutes ago, Srg said:

Getting rid of Kane Wilson at 25 years old for nothing, who can play pretty much anywhere down the right side, would just be dumb business. We need a squad of players not just starters, and permanent players who aren't 30+. 6 of 10 outfield players were under 30 on Saturday, one being Adams who will be 29 this season, then Yates and Harness who we don't own. Leaving just Nyambe, Cashin and Kenzo who we own and of prime age. Has to be a priority rather than relying on loans to bring down the age profile, as it's hard to plan longer term and definitely hard to make profits.

How many players would you be looking to sign in the summer? On average, Championship clubs made 10.4 signings this summer (5 min, 17 max). 

The squad I listed on page 1 is the maximum number of players we should keep. In this instance Ward and Thompson would be furthest from a starting spot, and arguably wouldn't be directly replaced, but you'd probably be looking to move one on to get an extra CF in.

On 09/10/2024 at 15:14, Ghost of Clough said:

GK: Zetterstrom, Vickers, Evans/JThompson
RB: Nyambe, Wilson, Ward
RCB: Phillips, Nelson, Rooney
LCB: Cashin, Forsyth
LB: New, Elder
DM: New, Adams
CM: Goudmijn, Osborn, LThompson
AM: New, Harness
RW: Jackson, Mendez-Laing
LW: New, Blackett-Taylor
CF: New, Yates, DBrown

This list included making 3 loans permanent and 5 additional signings. After those signings, you're potentially after another CF (if playing a front 2 or loaning Brown out). Next up would be improving at RB or on the wing. Personally, I think 8 or 9 signings would already stretch our budget, especially with up to 6 of the 9 being attacking players (3 probably on loan). Ideally, we get a couple of those players in during January (such as a much needed CF)

Over the following two windows, I reckon we'd then go for another 9 signings, depending on how many signings were loans the season before: GK (bench), CB (backup), RB, LB, CM, AM, RW, LW, CF

[DiggerB]

On 10/10/2024 at 17:32, Wignall12 said:

Unless he buys into the buzz here and wants to stay ?

He’s hitting peak age. I’d be pleasantly but mightily surprised if he’s here past next Summer.

[DiggerB]

7 hours ago, Ram@Lincoln said:

Bradley - will be 34 next season and not getting in the team currently. Move on. 

Barkhuizen - will be 32 next season. If fitness proven, 1 year deal for flexibility across the attack.

Washington - will be 33 next season, barely played and massively injury prone. Move on.

Collins - will be 34 next season, struggling to get in team. Move on.

Thompson - still young with potential to improve. Home grown status vital to fill out bench. 2 years.

Wilson - will be 25 next season, early stages of peak period, highly athletic and versatile. 2 years.

Nelson - will be 32 next season, never injured or suspended, vital experience for Rooney/Cashin. 2 years.

Forsyth - here as long as he wants, 1 year playing contract if capable, Huddlestone/B Johnson academy coaching role.

Largely agree, save for Barks.

[Kernow]

If we have 9 players out of contract, and 5 only on-loan, then automatically losing 14 players from our squad that need to be replaced is too many. We've had 3 summers in a row with mass rebuilds, and we've been quite fortunate to 'hit the ground running', so to speak. That won't happen all the time, starting slowly because we haven't gelled can be hard to turn around.

Whether they're good enough to help us push towards the top half of the Championship or not, I'd give one-year extensions to Nelson, Fozzy, Luthra and Thompson. Two more years for Wilson. I don't think any of those would be planned to be first XI players in the Championship next season ideally, but they can contribute to the squad. It gives us more focus, and more resources on a smaller number of additions, which will hopefully propel us towards where we want to be a little quicker.

[brady1993]

On 10/10/2024 at 19:11, Ghost of Clough said:

With the DM, I can't see us signing someone better than Ozoh in January. As such, I think it would be a backup option only in January, with a longer term signing in the summer. It may result in Thompson being surplus in the summer. We'll already have Adams, Goudmijn, Osborn, and potentially Harness for a 4231, so signing a backup DM (Jan) and 1st choice DM (summer), will nudge Thompson down to 7th choice in the middle.

I think Thompson could be a useful squad player with us for his entire career, but I don't think he'll ever be more.It's up to him if he's content with that, or if he wants to move somewhere like Mansfield or Rotherham and be a regular starter. As I mentioned above, I think he'll fall down the pecking order next summer and he may not get a choice as a result.

My thinking with the DM in January is I don't feel like we have someone other than Ozoh who can play as a sole DM as a 433. I think it does gets a little different if we are thinking more in terms of 4231 and I'd agree with you there. Personally I do think I'd have Thompson higher on the pick order than Osborn and I also do think he'd have more of a role in a 433 than a 4231 which would be my preference as our primary formation.

I think it's hard to say where Thompson will go career wise. He's largely not moved forwards as a player since his introduction. Personally I think that had less to do with him and more to do how he was managed by Warne at would be expected to be critical ages in his development. But the window for that surge in development may have passed him or he may have developed exactly the same under different management. I also think his career does depend a bit on getting a manager who plays to his strengths and likely puts him in a system that really suits him. I doubt he goes beyond being a championship player but I do think if things line up right he could develop into a very good player at this level.

You saw more of him at an academy level though, what did you think about his prospects at the time? Is he more or less in line with that right now ?

[IlsonDerby]

On 09/10/2024 at 15:43, Ghost of Clough said:

I'm not sure why I forgot Yates is contracted until 2026. He's clearly out of Swansea's plans, so should be available for a low fee either in January or the summer.

Transfermarkt say Phillips is free next summer though. What's your source for 2 years?

Phillips on £60k per week though. Imagine he’ll go to parachute payment club or a surprise promotion team.

[IlsonDerby]

On 11/10/2024 at 19:34, Kernow said:

If we have 9 players out of contract, and 5 only on-loan, then automatically losing 14 players from our squad that need to be replaced is too many. We've had 3 summers in a row with mass rebuilds, and we've been quite fortunate to 'hit the ground running', so to speak. That won't happen all the time, starting slowly because we haven't gelled can be hard to turn around.

Whether they're good enough to help us push towards the top half of the Championship or not, I'd give one-year extensions to Nelson, Fozzy, Luthra and Thompson. Two more years for Wilson. I don't think any of those would be planned to be first XI players in the Championship next season ideally, but they can contribute to the squad. It gives us more focus, and more resources on a smaller number of additions, which will hopefully propel us towards where we want to be a little quicker.

I disagree with Wilson. I think slap him on a long term contract. He’s no worse a defender than Bogle and attacks brilliantly. There’s a saleable asset there which is what we should be filling our squad with to help with rejuvenating the playing staff in a sustainable way. 
 

I’m telling you now, if we stay up and Wilson has a solid run in the side there’ll be teams willing to pay 2m+ if he’s tied down to a contract. 

[Gerry Daly]

Anyone talking about Wilson being let go is bonkers. Plus it won't happen anyway. He's one of our best players

[Ghost of Clough]

8 hours ago, brady1993 said:

My thinking with the DM in January is I don't feel like we have someone other than Ozoh who can play as a sole DM as a 433. I think it does gets a little different if we are thinking more in terms of 4231 and I'd agree with you there. Personally I do think I'd have Thompson higher on the pick order than Osborn and I also do think he'd have more of a role in a 433 than a 4231 which would be my preference as our primary formation.

I think it's hard to say where Thompson will go career wise. He's largely not moved forwards as a player since his introduction. Personally I think that had less to do with him and more to do how he was managed by Warne at would be expected to be critical ages in his development. But the window for that surge in development may have passed him or he may have developed exactly the same under different management. I also think his career does depend a bit on getting a manager who plays to his strengths and likely puts him in a system that really suits him. I doubt he goes beyond being a championship player but I do think if things line up right he could develop into a very good player at this level.

You saw more of him at an academy level though, what did you think about his prospects at the time? Is he more or less in line with that right now ?

Unforunately for Thompson, Osborn, Adams and Goudmijn are all contracted beyond this season. As such, it's unlikely we'll let any go and we'll be looking for at least 2 new central midfield players... unless he can fight off the competition and earn a regular starting spot by the end of the season (he'd have to get ahead of Adams and Osborn in the LCM position, or Goudmijn at RCM). That's before adding Harness and Chirewa into the mix when playing with AMs.

It's hard to judge Thompson on the academy days because he was behind Bird, Knight and Sibley. There was also JBrown who was used everywhere in defence and DM, who I would say was a greater prospect due to his versatility. In the aademy sides, I would have judged them as L1 at best. At the time we used him the same way as Bird - as a deep lying playmaker. Whilst Thompson's range of passing was the best out of all of them, the skills he's shown in the first team weren't as evident (mainly energy and reliability in tight areas)

 

5 hours ago, IlsonDerby said:

Phillips on £60k per week though. Imagine he’ll go to parachute payment club or a surprise promotion team.

If that was likely he'll have gone on loan to one of those clubs. The fact he was at Cardiff last season and us now suggests a club higher up the table or with more money wasn't interested. As such, his wage demands will be much more reasonable in the summer.